Adrian Campos ‘working hard’ to secure F1 team’s future

Bruno Senna and Adrian Campos in the presentation of the pilot Campos Meta – 2009

The boss of the new Campos Meta 1 Formula 1 team says he hopes to resolve their future early next week.

Adrian Campos’s team is the subject of intense speculation that they will not make the grid this year as they struggle to find the required budget.

Campos told BBC Sport: “We are trying to have everything solved on Monday – and people are saying a lot of stupid things. Some are true and some are not.

“We are working very hard to be in Bahrain (for the first race)”.

Campos – who has already signed Brazilian Bruno Senna, the nephew of the late triple world champion Ayrton – would not confirm whether the team would make it to the first race.

He is known to be speaking to South African businessman Tony Teixeira, the founder of the now-defunct A1 Grand Prix series, about buying into the team.

Autosport.com has reported that a deal with Teixeira has already been concluded.

But Campos, who has set up the team in partnership with Spanish businessman Jose Ramon Carabante, said he could not comment on the claims.

“The problem is we have confidentiality clauses in everything we are doing“, he said.

Asked about reports that the team are behind on their payments to Italian race-car constructor Dallara, which they have commissioned to design and build their car, Campos said: “Sometimes we pay the [instalment of] 7m Euros to Dallara and sometimes we don’t have the money. We are trying to solve the problem“.

He did, though, deny claims that Dallara had ended its contract with the team and sold the car to F1 hopefuls Stefan Grand Prix, a team set up by Serbian businessman Zoran Stefanovich who do not have an entry for 2010.

“No, they (Dallara) can’t do that – we have a contract with them“, Campos said.

Stefan GP’s case is being championed by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who has repeatedly been quoted saying he does not expect Campos or fellow new entrant US F1 to make the grid.

And on Friday, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher told German newspaper Bild that he had been in talks with the team about an F1 comeback, saying Stefanovich made “a very serious and purposeful impression“.

Stefan GP are reported to have acquired the cars designed for 2010 by the former Toyota team before the Japanese manufacturer quit F1 at the end of last season.

US F1 boss Peter Windsor has repeatedly insisted that his team will be ready for the Bahrain race on 14 March.